


Young Princess

by poisonkiwifruit



Series: Hybrids and Demons [2]
Category: No Fandom, Original Work
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-09
Updated: 2019-07-09
Packaged: 2020-06-25 04:18:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19738162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poisonkiwifruit/pseuds/poisonkiwifruit
Summary: We look into the life of a young princess with an extraordinary upbringing.





	Young Princess

**Author's Note:**

> this is meant to be a short sequel to my previous garbage story "Hybrids and Demons"; check that out if you want but it is nothing compared to this story since I actually know how to write now.

A small youth stared confidently at the doors of her brown wardrobe. She had always gazed upon the intricate etchings along the edges of the giant wooden closet. They depicted a pattern of long, serpentine dragons with colorful scales in brilliant reds, radiant blues, and lustrous greens. On the doors there were dragons on either side that looked quite fearsome, with terrifying claws that could pierce the hardest armor, horns bigger than mountains, and massive wings that looked like they could take on the strongest of winds.

The young girl turned and walked to the other side of her spacious room, where she found her full-length mirror. First, she rubbed at her small horns protruding upward from her forehead, then sighed. Next, she shook out her own wings. They were leathery and smooth; soft to touch; they bore a deep green color, the same as her hair, and not as impressive as the dragon on her wardrobe. Still, she longed to take to the sky, to feel the wind beneath her wings and fly free without a care in the world. Her bright yellow eyes slid over to the top of her wardrobe. It was a good start. Perhaps a bit too high to reach? Her eyes roamed once again, this time to the desk positioned conveniently close to the wardrobe.

The tyke turned on her heel and beelined for the desk. She pulled out the chair and took her time climbing onto it before she crawled onto the desk. Herein lies a bigger problem; a formidable gap divided the wardrobe and desk. Perhaps someone a bit taller could jump and grab a hold of the top of the wardrobe to climb on top, but she was quite small for her age. And species.

A brilliant idea sprung to her mind and she reached over to grab the chair, a trying task as she knocked over a few books, as well as a lamp situated at the corner of the desk. She winced after hearing the glass of the lightbulb shatter, knowing that if anyone lingering outside of her room had heard such a distressing sound, that they would be alerted and determined to find out what had caused it. This only meant that she had to act quickly. 

The young dragonling hurriedly pulled the chair up, steadying it on top of the desk and began to climb. Once she stood in the middle of the chair, reaching new heights, her former problem became a bit more manageable. She would, of course, still need to jump, but the top of the wardrobe was much closer and easier to grab from this distance. She steeled herself before leaping from the chair. The upper half of her body successfully made it to the top of the wardrobe, making it easy for her to pull the rest of her body up.

She stood up fully on top of the wardrobe, which only made the young girl look up in awe: her ceilings were quite high! Afterwards, she looked down and gulped. She was pretty high up. It wasn’t a drop that would kill her or anything, but it would hurt a lot to hit the ground without any cushions. Well, whatever, she was here now. Without any further thought, the girl jumped forward from the wardrobe and spread her wings, flapping against the air. Although, she wasn’t gaining any air at all and was instead falling rapidly, she flailed her arms and screamed, before bracing for impact.

Almost instantly did her door burst open and a deep voice bellowed: “Lian!” She had already hit the floor and the newcomer quickly ran and crouched to her side—The Amarok, Lian’s personal bodyguard. A tall, bulky man, light brown skin, dull orange hair, and bright pink eyes.

Lian had moved into a seated position to take in any potential injuries. She had landed mostly on her chest and face so that’s what hurt the most. Her legs, arms, and wings seemed to escape unscathed, however the same couldn’t be said for her face or head.

“Lian, you’ve broken your horn.” The Amarok said holding up the silver piece of the child’s horn that had chipped off. He looked around the room seeing the desk chair stacked on top of the desk and vague scratches at the top of her wardrobe, quickly concluding what had just occurred. Lian felt around her mouth before spitting out a tooth in her hand. She swiped her tongue along the inside of her mouth before finding out it was her front right fang that she was now missing. “You were trying to fly again.”

Lian rubbed her now pounding head and responded, “Yeah.”

“I’ve told you already that your wings aren’t ready for that.”

“But Ammy—”

“No buts. Look you’ve lost a horn and a tooth. What if something more serious happened to you?” Lian pouted and The Amarok stood up, helping Lian to her feet as well. “Come. We’re going to the infirmary. You could have a concussion.”

“Aw, man! But I hate it there!” She whined, pulling adamantly on The Amarok’s hand.

“Perhaps you should have considered the risks before jumping off of your wardrobe,” The Amarok concluded. Lian trailed behind him, not bothering to protest her wellbeing with “I feel fine” or “I’m okay”. There was no way he would listen. He never did.

Nova was a doctor, exclusively Lian’s. She had brown skin, hazel eyes, and black braids with blue mixed in. Lian always thought the blue was a pretty color. It was easy on the eyes. Nova got a good look at Lian’s toothless grin and her missing horn and shook her head as she quickly deduced what had happened. “Trying to fly again, eh Lian? Looks like you messed yourself up pretty good.”

“Yep!” Lian exclaimed proudly.

The Amarok cut in, “Nova, she may be concussed.”

“Oh? I highly doubt it. It would take quite a bit to give a dragon Demon a concussion.” Nova explained. “Even at her age.” Lian got up real close to Nova, opening her mouth wide and pointing at her missing tooth. “Wow! You really knocked that sucker out huh?”

The Amarok’s stoic face did not falter. “Please see to it that she is completely healthy. I will wait outside.” With that he left Lian in Nova’s care and closed the door behind him. Lian turned her bright eyes to Nova and frowned. “You’re not gonna stick needles in me, are you?”

“Not this time, little one. How do you feel? Does your head hurt? Do you feel sick?”

Lian shook her head. “Nuh-uh. I feel fine. Ammy is overreacting.” She folded her arms.

“I think he is too. He brings you here over every little thing. The guy looks tough but he’s a big softie, huh?”

“Yep!”

“That guy… Still, he’ll get angry if I don’t do this right so I’m gonna give you a few tests.”

Nova tested Lian on her hearing, eyesight, speech, and reaction time. Everything seemed to be perfectly normal, however Nova still had one more test to go. She shuffled through a messy desk before pulling out a book and flipping through its pages. As Nova cycled through the pages what Lian could see, it was a book full of pictures. There were depictions of animals, people, and various objects. “Lian, I need to test your memory so I will show you some pictures and you tell me what it is, okay?”

“Sure.” Lian answered fast. All the tests were boring her, and she wanted this over fast. Lian answered every question with ease, with the exception of a few things she didn’t know. Not due to memory loss though. Automobiles were ancient and haven’t been used in centuries.

Nova placed the booked down, plopped into her chair, and sighed. “Welp, it looks like you’re completely fine. Just as I speculated.” Nova saw that Lian was staring intently at her book she had just placed down. She glanced to the page it was open. “Oh…” She seemed to say by reflex. There was a very detailed illustration of a man—a Demon, long, flowing locks, the same green color as her own. Same eyes as well. She imagined that her wings would one day grow to be such a massive size. Horns too if she’d stop breaking them. The Demon was wearing long red robes that were decorated with shining gold and silver thread. Lian too wore similar robes, more fitted to her size. She had seen this Demon many times. There were dozens of murals depicting the late Demon king, Zodiac, around the castle and often times they were defaced.

“This is Papa…” Lian said absently, still staring at the portrait. In every piece of artwork, she had seen of her father, he looked furious and was almost always covered in blood. However, in this depiction, he had the softest of smiles as he gazed at the woman standing next to him. She was a lovely and warm brown color: brown skin, brown hair, brown eyes, and regarding Zodiac with the same warmth he gave to her. Lian had never seen the woman before but seeing her image made her heart swell. She read the caption underneath. “Dream…Is this my mom? I’ve never seen her before. And I’ve never seen Papa beside anyone! Especially not smiling like this.”

“Hm, yes, it appears that way. I don’t know much about her myself, but based on the little I do know, you might be correct.” Nova confirmed.

Lian quickly blurted out. “What do you know about her? I’ve never heard anything about my mom—please tell me!” Lian’s heart was racing just from the thought of knowing more about her mother, her tail wagged in anticipation.

Nova frowned and leaned back in her seat. “Well she was a maid for Zodiac, but that’s about all I know. Their relationship was kept a secret until just before their deaths so not many people know much about her besides Zodiac himself.”

“Are you sure no one else knows?” Lian asked with a pout.

“Sorry, little one. Why don’t you ask The Amarok? He may know something. You’re all good to go now.” 

“Okay. Wait! What about my tooth?” Lian opened her mouth, once again showing Nova her missing fang.

Nova couldn’t help but chuckle. “It was a baby tooth, and considering you’re a Demon, it’ll probably grow back within twenty-four hours.” Nova gave Lian a dismissive pat on the head and sent her along her way.

As soon as she saw The Amarok, Lian questioned him about her mother.

“Your mother was one of many maids that served your late father.” The Amarok told Lian in his usual monotone voice.

Lian stomped her feet in anger, her talons clicking against the marble, and she folded her arms. “I already know all that! Don’t you have anything new to tell me?”

“Not many people knew much about your mother, Lian. Her relationship with your father was secret.”

“Well direct me to the people who do!” Lian cried. “Why is this the one thing I can’t know? I get to know about how horrible my father was, how I was kidnapped as a baby, and how my older sister, who was barely a year old, was murdered. I get to know all these stupid things, but the only thing I know about my mother is that she’s dead.”

The Amarok blinked at Lian’s outburst. He had taken her anger for a temper tantrum, similar to the ones that she often had, but listening to the child now, he realized that she was genuinely angry. And rightfully so. Her whole existence had been nothing but one problem after the other. The Amarok pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, feeling the regret creeping into his body as he spoke his next words. “Perhaps if you wish to know more, you should speak to your primary caretakers.”

Lian bore a new look of confusion. “Which?”

The Amarok continued. “Your educational instructor, Snow, your combat instructor, Final, and your former caretaker, Night.”

“You’re telling me that they know more about my mother?”

The Amarok hesitated before he nodded, realizing quickly that this was the first Lian was hearing of this. How had he managed to tell her everything but this? “Perhaps. They most certainly had a hand in killing her, back when they kidnapped you and your sister.”

—

Lian remained silent as she circled the three Demon's standing in the middle of her room. The Amarok had summoned the three for Lian so that they could answer any questions that she had. They all looked concerned; Snow was pulling at her white locks, Final was looking around nervously like he was about to get jumped, and Night just looked generally uncomfortable being in Lian’s presence. She asked them to calm down then asked them to tell her exactly everything that happened when they had kidnapped her nine years ago.

The tale they had just relayed to her was a wild one. Granted, Lian thought it interesting, but full of holes and inconsistencies. Lian didn't suspect that either one of them were lying to her, just that they were all stupid. The Amarok was in the room as well, shaking his head silently throughout the entire story. 

"You suggested the kidnapping," Lian stated, pointing at Night, "Killed my older sister, who was just an infant at the time, and eventually my parents," Lian then motioned to both Final and Snow, "And you two just went along with it? Is that what I'm hearing?"

"I mean technically, Zodiac killed Dream, but yeah." Snow couldn't help but say.

Final narrowed his eyes and said, "I told him we should have put you two right back where we found you but nooo."

"Well look at where it got us." Night responded cooly.

"But at what fucking cost?" Final growled.

Lian singled out Night again, "What were you even planning to do with us anyway?" 

Night stammered, taken aback by the question. “Uhh…”

“I think he wanted to use you two as leverage in a way.” Snow filled in for him. “Force Zodiac to step down from his throne somehow. Man, was it poorly executed."

Lian turned to The Amarok, unamused, "Why were these people allowed to raise me?" 

"I am uncertain, Lian, but I assume they received countless favors from your father's previous council after killing him."

"Papa had a council?" Lian was skeptical. 

The Amarok nodded. "Obviously, it didn't work out."

"Hmm." Lian observed the three carefully before speaking again. "Well, based on their story, they don't know much about Mama either." she sighed. "At least I know she was strong like Papa. Perhaps a bit unhinged as he was too." Lian trailed back to her bed lying in it slowly before curling herself into a ball. “You all can leave now.” 

The trio looked at one another in confusion and when they didn't leave fast enough, The Amarok rushed them out and closed the door behind them. He turned to Lian and went to her side. "Lian," he said to her softly. "Are you alright?" he placed a tender hand on her shoulder. He saw that the girl was weeping quietly. "Lian…"

"I don't know why I'm so upset. I never knew her."

The Amarok did his best to console the young princess. "Lian, whatever you are feeling, it's okay. You have had an unusual upbringing and it must be hard to know everything and nothing at the same time.It's alright, child." Lian threw herself onto The Amarok sobbing heavily. He held on to Lian, patting her back and rocking her gently, trying to soothe her

"Let it out. I am here for you." He said softly.  
——

Lian’s eyes fluttered open. It was dark and it took a moment for Lian’s eyes to adjust until she could clearly see her surroundings. She blinked a few times before gathering her bearings. She was in her bed so she concluded quickly that she must have fallen asleep although she wasn’t quite sure when. Lian sat up, unfurling her tail that was wrapped tightly around her body and stretched out her limbs before brushing away the curtains and slowly sliding off from her bed. Lian took a few steps through her room before stopping and cocking her head. She wasn’t able to explain it but something felt off to her. It was very quiet. Granted, Lian was usually never awake this late, so it could always be this quiet in the castle at this hour. Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling something was wrong.

She began to walk toward her door, hoping to seek out The Amarok, however she felt a sudden shift in the air around her wings. She turned suddenly, startled to find a figure right behind her, a dagger in hand. The figure seemed to pause for a moment, perhaps surprised that Lian had spotted them, before they gripped at the dagger and lunged at the child. Lian finally reacted and screamed, flailing away from the assassin before she eventually tripped over her own tail and fell backward, the assailants knife swept just above her head, whistling audibly overhead as it passed over her.

Lian scrambled up to her feet and ran over to her door, opening it, and rushing out into the hall. She looked to her left, a dead end, and then to the right, revealing long, dark emptiness. The Amarok was always in close vicinity to Lian when she was in her room, but right now he was nowhere in sight. She began running down the hall as fast as she could, refusing to let this assassin catch up to her. “Ammy!?” She tried calling out his name, receiving no response.The hall forked into two paths and Lian picked one on instinct, not particularly sure where she was going. She roamed these halls often, but in the heat of the moment, Lian’s sense of direction was impaired and she was more concerned about getting away from this assassin alive. 

Lian dared to take a glance behind her and quickly learned it was a mistake. The assassin was on her heels and lunged at her with his knife. Acting fast, Lian redirected the assassin’s trajectory and his dagger lodged into the wall behind her. While the assassin tried to dislodge his weapon, Lian gave him a good slap with her tail before sprinting away again. Every moment or so she called for The Amarok as she searched desperately for him. She didn’t know what else to do. She could fight, but she wasn’t completely confident in her skills; Lian figured an assassin could definitely overpower a small child. The Amarok was her best chance for survival but where was he?

Every turn Lian took eventually led her to the foyer. Lian caught herself on rails of the west hall entrance at the top of the stairs and took in the scene. Three, no she got a better look and saw that there were actually four people laying on the ground, beaten and bloodied. On the ground floor, Lian witnessed The Amarok ending what must have been his fifth battle by slashing the intruders face with his claws before skewering his neck and tossing the body aside.

Lian was terrified, having never seen such a violent side of The Amarok nor so many dead bodies but regardless, she pushed herself from the railing and ran toward him. 

"Ammy!" Lian cried. The Amarok turned when she was about five feet away, glaring at her for a moment, before dropping his guard for a second after realizing it was the young princess.

"Lian!" he exclaimed, dropping down to a knee and catching the child who had jumped into his arms.

"Ammy! T-there’s someone behind me! They are definitely trying to kill me! I didn't know what to do or where to go— I just thought I had to find you!"

The Amarok didn't have the time to respond to the frightened Lian before the sixth assassin, the one that was chasing Lian, revealed himself. He clicked his teeth before saying, "This was supposed to be easy…" The assassin hopped over the rails, landing in front of both princess and bodyguard. The Amarok shoved Lian behind him before engaging with the intruder. 

The assassin was holding his own against The Amarok but it was short lived. The Amarok was far stronger and more experienced. He had pummeled the would be killer until he was weak against the wall. The Amarok was about to end his life, in a similar fashion to his previous enemy but upon remembering Lian was present, he went for a less bloody method, discreetly grabbing the man’s neck and quickly snapping it. He took a deep breath before returning back to Lian, who was on her knees shaking. 

"Lian, are you alright child?” Lian slowly nodded her head and The Amarok crouched down to continuing speaking to her. “I’m sorry I couldn’t get to you sooner. One of these assassins was a parrot Hybrid. They mocked your voice perfectly. I foolishly followed it, thinking it was you. I hadn’t realized I had been lured into a trap until it was too late. I planned to get back to you quickly but there were many more of these fools than I expected.” He glared angrily at the assassins before looking back to Lian softly. “I'm relieved you managed to escape, Lian." He wanted to pat her head affectionately but remembered the blood and quickly pulled away. "I'm sorry you have to see me like this, child. You're far too young to be exposed to such violence. Although I suppose with your upbringing, it is inevitable...”

“Are you hurt?” Lian’s small voice asked rubbing at her eyes at the same time. 

“No, child, do not weep. Twice in a day is too much for me to bear.”

“No, I’m not crying. There’s something like dust in my eyes.” Lian explained then she coughed for extra emphasis. “It’s dusty in here.”

The Amarok narrowed his eyes, finding that statement to be strange. The castle was rather big, yes, but it was well kept. People often bustled through the foyer so dust seemed unusual. Except maybe—

The Amarok didn’t have time to look up, he figured it was already too late when he heard the glass jangling above him. The Demon quickly pushed Lian back several feet before the glass chandelier fell onto him and glass shattered around the entire room and a cloud of dust coated the area.

Lian coughed and sputtered, trying to wave away the dust. She squinted through the dust particles trying to find where her bodyguard once was, only to find his body lying under the remains of the chandelier, bloodied and crushed. She exhaled sharply and began to run to his side "A-Ammy! The Ama—" Lian was cut off by a coughing fit that strangely left the air chilled.

At the same time, Lian heard what she could only assume was another assassin, drop behind her. A woman's voice spoke, "All this bloodshed for a little brat." Lian felt the cold steel of the woman's blade at the back of her neck and froze. There was nothing she could do. She was going to die having only lived nine years. And for what? For existing? 

Another voice broke through the silence shouting "No!" The Demon behind Lian turned at the voice before being struck down into the glass covered marble floor. 

Lian didn't immediately look at who had saved her, instead immediately rushing to The Amarok. She saw that he was still moving, trying to crawl out from underneath the shattered ceiling fixture. "Ammy, don't move. You'll only make it worse!" Lian was happy that he was still alive but tears were streaming down her face. 

He seemed to give up his efforts after hearing her words. "L….Li..an. Run."

"N-no, no, no. I can't leave you!" 

"Child...you can't help me now and I… can't help you. Not...like this." He wanted to say more but pain finally overtook him and he passed out.

Lian shook her head, unsure if her bodyguard had died. The commotion between the assassin and Lian's mystery savior had soon caught her attention. The savior was throwing a series of kicks and punches at the assassin, overpowering her completely. This new figure's face was covered, they were wearing dark clothes, with a beat up cape covering their shoulders. Lian wasn't sure if they were friend or foe, but they had saved her from a murderer so she assumed friend, and she was completely mesmerized by their movements. Although their fighting was kicking up a bunch of dust particles sending the young princess into another coughing fit. 

The intruder seemed to remember Lian was present and ignored the mystery person, heading straight for the child as she coughed profusely. Lian only looked up when the mystery person once again cried out again, this time screaming: "No, Lian!"

Lian inhaled for a scream, instead choking on the dust until the chill had return and something strange occurred. Her cough exploded into a strong blue light and once it came into contact with the assassin, it burst into formations of ice spread out from her body freezing her and sections of the immediate surrounding area. The assassin had stopped, completely frozen in place. 

The mystery figured approached the now frozen, murderous invader. She took a moment to observe before shattering the ice into pieces, completely destroying the assassin. Lian whimpered and turned away. Before slowly looking back to the figure who was now staring at Lian intently. 

The princess could now tell this figure was a woman. Her brown hair was short and shaved on the right side. The bottom half of her face was covered, but Lian could see she had numerous scars, one in particular looked like it came from someone's claws. Her eyes were brown but seemed to be glowing a dim red. "That should be the last of them. Is he alive?" she asked motioning to The Amarok's body.

Lian looked back down to her bodyguard, crushed helplessly and searched his body for a pulse. "H-he's alive."

The older woman nodded. "Good. Don't have anyone move him unless they're a medical team. This chandelier may very well be the thing keeping him alive." The woman began to walk away without another word. 

"Wait!" Lian demanded. The woman stopped but didn't turn back. Lian got a better look at the beat up, red cape she was wearing. Lian felt she had somehow seen it before. "Who are you?"

"Nobody of concern, little princess."

"Why did you save me? You called me Lian, as if you are familiar with me."

The woman was silent before saying, "It's your name, is it not?" The question was so simple and yet Lian didn't know how to respond "Little one, it's probably best that you forget I was here." The woman took her leave through the foyer door, leaving Lian to deal with the horrific scene before her.

—

Two months had passed since the attempted assassination on Lian. The situation had been cleaned up fairly quickly; in fact no one other than those closest to Lian— that is Final, Night, Snow, Nova, The Amarok, and just a few others nursing him back to health.

It had to have been some sort of divine intervention that The Amarok survived. He suffered a few crushed limbs, a punctured lung, and at worst, his legs were left temporarily paralyzed, however The Amarok was wasn't out of the job. He had spent the last couple months building up his strength again and regaining feeling in them; being a Demon helped with the process, as he was able to heal at a much faster pace.

As of this day, The Amarok was allowed to walk around again, although given crutches just in case. Lian found herself lightly kicking at his legs to "help" him build his leg strength again. The Amarok allowed it for a bit, finding her reasoning cute, but her actions quickly became irritating. 

"Lian, enough, child." The Amarok told her sternly. The young child pouted but she stopped when he asked. "Lian weren't you supposed to have someone escort you here?"

She nodded "Mmm… yeah."

"So where are they now?" The Amarok waited for an answer that never came. "Lian, you were actually escorted here?"

The young girl began to twist her hair with her finger. "Of course, I was."

"Why do you feel the need to lie to me, child? What have you done?" The Amarok asked wearily. Lian frowned and grabbed ahold of The Amarok's hand until they were upon quite a scene in the hall just outside her room. 

A man, one of the royal guards, frozen from the waist down grunting and struggling to free himself. When he spotted Lian and The Amarok he exclaimed, "There you are Princess! You shouldn't have wandered off like that!"

"How could I have helped you then?"

The guard continued, "Even so, Princess. You never know what danger lurks around the corner." 

"Lian, what happened?" The Amarok asked.

The guard cut in before she could speak. "It was my fault, sir! I frightened the young princess—it's only fitting she froze me out of spite."

"No, you fool! I didn't do it on purpose! It was an accident!" She turned to The Amarok. "He approached me from behind and I just reacted. At first it was only his feet and I wanted to unthaw him, so I thought maybe I had fire breath, like Papa, but I made it worse. I didn't want to break the ice because…" Lian began to recall the woman who shattered the assassin into pieces after being frozen and shuddered. "Anyway, it was an accident!"

The Amarok approached the frozen guard. "Are you able to move, even just a little?"

"Afraid not." Admitted the guard, " And I lost feeling in my legs just moments ago."

The Amarok pinched the bridge of his nose. "Lian, stay in your room, I'll handle this." The Amarok chipped at the ice on the floor until it was safe to separate the guard and the floor. He lifted him and hoisted the guard over his broad shoulders. He looked at Lian one more time and ordered her again, much more sternly, "Stay."

"I will!" She snapped before retreating inside. 

Nothing much for her to do here so she sat at her desk. There Nova's picture book lay open; Nova was kind enough to lend the princess the book for as long as she saw fit and Lian kept it open to the page displaying the portrait of both her mother and father. She had grown quite attached the picture and often spent hours studying how her mother and father looked; she admired the loving smile gracing Zodiac's lips and how much love emanated from the crinkle of Dream's eyes as she smiled back. This really was the only picture in which her father was shown having the capacity to love and care, instead of being an angry, homicidal, tyrant. Whoever illustrated the image had quite the eye for capturing emotion. 

Lian thought, even if they had been bad people, at the very least they loved each other, that much was clear from the artwork. Lian sighed, also thinking, they may have been homicidal maniacs but it would have been nice to meet them. Her sister too. Perhaps she should have died as an infant too so she didn't have to feel so out of place existing now…

The familiar breeze of the air shifting behind Lian, startled her and she turned suddenly, "Who's there?" she demanded. Lian was ready to attack, thinking perhaps it was yet another assassin, and wondering also how people were sneaking into both the castle and her room so easily.

"I'm not here to harm you!" They had told her. Lian quickly recognized the invader as the woman who had saved her from the assassins.

"You! What are you doing here? The guard didn't mention you, how did you get in without the guard seeing you? He was frozen in place how could he have missed you?"

"I'm pretty fast." The woman said simply. 

Lian calmed herself, lowering her defenses, even though she wasn't completely sure this woman could be trusted. However, if she wanted to inflict harm upon Lian, she could have done so without announcing her presence. Also, Lian couldn't explain it, but there was something inherently calming about her presence. Perhaps it was simply because the woman had saved her life that Lian felt this way…

Lian asked her, "What do you want?" The woman didn't answer and Lian continued. "You obviously don't want to kill me…Why do you cover your face? Are you some sort of thief?"

"Nothing like that, Lian."

Lian snapped, "Then who are you!? And why do you say my name as if you know me?" Again the woman fell silent and Lian frowned. "If you won't talk, I'll just have my bodyguard deal with you." Lian told her. She began to walk toward her door but when she grabbed the handle and opened the door, the woman spoke again.

"I'm sorry. I...shouldn't have come again. I shouldn't be this close…" She came closer to Lian only to exit through the door. The woman's beat up cape fluttered behind her and something in Lian's brain clicked.

The cape! She had seen it, several times and moments ago when she was looking at the portrait of her parents. It was Zodiac's cape, she was certain! Lian hadn't recognized it immediately, seeing as it was torn up and the color was much duller, but in several depictions of Zodiac in battle, he was wearing a magnificent red cape with intricate, floral patterns— the same as the ones on the cape the woman was wearing now. 

"Wait!" Lian grabbed the woman's arm to make sure she didn't escape her. "How do you have this?" Lian reached out and held up the woman's cape before dropping it again. She was certain it was the same cape as Zodiac—she had never seen another like it. 

"This is…" The woman looked reminiscent at first but then her eyes widened as if she had suddenly realized a mistake.

"It's Zodiac's, right? My father. I'm sure that's it. If anything, it should either be with him in his grave or in my posession, but you have it ...which means,"

Lian's hand slipped from the woman's arm from the shock of realization. Lian was starting to see the similarities between her portrait and how she looked now. 

"You are Dream? …Mama?"

" 'Mama'," the woman seemed to chuckle. She came back into Lian's chambers, making sure the door was closed shut behind her. Afterwards she turned to the young girl and pulled down the scarf covering her face. "I never thought I'd get to hear my own baby call me that."

Lian began to scuffle backward until she fell on her bottom. "It really is you…! But how? Everyone...EVERYONE says you died along with Papa." Lian gasped. "Is he alive too?"

Dream smiled sadly. "If only." She offered her hand to help Lian up to her feet. Lian took her hand hesitantly, still looking at Dream wide eyed, as if she were a ghost. 

"H-how are you alive?"

Dream thought on her question. "I don't know. Luck, perhaps? By all means, I should have died." 

Lian continued to gawk although, at this point, she was simply amazed by Dream's beauty. The portrait, although very well done, did little justice for the real thing— and Lian thought her battle scars and short hair made her look much cooler.

"Lian," Dream called softly although she didn't follow up with anything. She was too awed by what was happening, as was Lian. She tucked her little princess's hair behind her ear then grasped her shoulders and just stared. "Oh, my sweet child, you've grown to be so beautiful. Ah, and you've taken more of Zodiac's features than mine. That's probably for the best" Dream took another look at her daughter and could no longer hold back from embracing her tightly in her arms. "Mija, how I've longed to hold you in my arms."

Lian easily hugged Dream back and inhaled her mother's scent. She closed her eyes feeling at peace. Lian had just met Dream but somehow this felt familiar to her. "Mama," she began, "if you've been alive all this time, what have you been doing?"

Dream pulled back and looked at her child in the eye. "Are you asking why I didn't come to you sooner?"

"Well, that's half of it. I just don't completely understand how you're here or why you're here. And I suppose yes, if you were alive this entire time, why didn't you come to me sooner?"

Dream took a breath and began her explanation. "Well it was actually a long, tedious recovery for me. My heart stopped for a few moments."

"So it's true, Papa did kill you? Or he almost did I guess."

Dream's hand went to her chest. "Ah...yes. He gave me quite the shock. Literally. I don't remember much about it. I was floating in and out of consciousness. Someone who didn't know my face and my deeds nursed me back. It took a little more than a year for me to recover, and another for me to fight again. Still, my heart has suffered a lot of damage from what Zodiac did."

"Do you hate Papa for what he did?"

Dream shook her head. "No. I don't know what happened exactly but I know in my heart he never meant to intentionally hurt me."

Lian was somehow relieved Dream had said that. Nearly everyone she encountered had something nasty to say about her father. It was refreshing to hear something nice. "So two years of recovery and the rest…?"

Dream sighed. "Deciding if I should reveal myself. This entire time I've silently watched over you, I've watched you grow and—," Dream clenched her fist so hard that her nails dug into her palms, drawing blood. "In the arms of that bastard who murdered Astro no less!" Dream quickly calmed herself before her anger got the best of her. "It pained me to watch you grow from afar but I couldn't bring myself to reveal myself to you after all that I have done."

"All that you did," Lian said, "do you mean...when you killed people?"

Dream nodded slowly. "When Astro was taken from us, Zodiac once asked me if perhaps it was his wrongdoings that led to her death. I've thought on that reasoning ever since he asked. I suppose somehow it convinced me to let you grow up without me in your life. I thought without my influence, you could have a normal, happy life. That, of course, changed two months ago when I found out you were being targeted. I didn't want you to see me but I couldn't let them hurt you. I didn't intend to speak to you again after that night, Lian, however, after speaking to you the one time, I couldn't stay away."

Dream finished her story and Lian took a moment to process before speaking again.

"I see." Lian said simply. "I understand your reasoning. However, I don't agree with it. That I would have a normal life without you. My life had been far from normal. It may have been worse before I was born, but it certainly wasn't pleasant to grow up in the aftermath."

Dream lowered her head in shame. "I'm sorry my child. I have no excuses."

"I don't want any, Mama, I just want you to know my life wasn't as easy as you wanted it to be." Lian looked her mother in the eye. "I wish you had stolen me away."

"I still can." Dream said before she could think about her words, surprising herself. It surprised her more when Lian responded:

"Then let's leave. We should leave right now."

"Now!?" Dream was taken aback. Sure, she was Lian's mother, but the child had just met her and wanted to leave just like that.

Lian explained herself. "Planning would give us away wouldn't it? I'm a child and the princess with a bodyguard that never leaves my side ...Aside from right now. This is probably the only chance we'll get." 

"Lian…." Dream caressed her daughter's cheek before cupping it gently, taking a moment to think of her hardships; how much the child had been told about her upbringing; how much violence she had been exposed to— some by Dream herself! Lian had been forced to grow up faster than she wanted and it was heartbreaking.  
"Okay, little one, if that's what you want." She pulled the scarf back over her face and pulled Lian up into her arms, concealing her small form with the cape, before exiting the room and beginning her escape from the castle.

—-

The Amarok had knocked on Lian's door a few times before deciding to answer. When he found the room empty he frowned and sighed deeply. 

"I told that child to stay put."


End file.
